Cool Places
Scott Polar Museum
Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER
Reopened over a decade ago after an extensive renovation, the museum of the city's Polar Institute has a steadily growing collection and as well as permanent exhibits, regularly hosts special exhibitions and guest presentations. It has some choice items on permanent display – Ernest Shackleton’s evacuation instructions stained by the blubber stove, the final letters of Captain Scott and the sleeping bag used by Captain Oates before his sacrificial walk into an Antarctic blizzard, all of which make for a surprisingly moving experience. It also displays the art of native Inuit hunters and other exhibits on those who both live and explore in the harsh polar environments, and is home to a small cinema.
